Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 579: Chapter 303: The Commerce Association is Established (Part 3)

That was why the moment the Cheng Clan Commerce Association opened for business today, his father had dragged him here to stand in line.

Butcher Zhang snorted and said in a low voice, "I told you, this Commerce Association was opened by the Cheng Family. The founder himself was just a farmer’s son back in the day. He must have had some fateful encounter with an Immortal to get where he is now. The entire County Town... no, the entire Immortal City belongs to the Cheng Family now. How glorious! Son, you have to make me proud. If you have a Spirit Root and can achieve Cultivation Immortality, our family’s destiny of being butchers for generations can finally change!"

Zhang Qijing scratched his head. "Dad, is this something you can succeed at just by trying hard? Did you really know him back then?"

Butcher Zhang froze. He raised a large, coarse hand, about to instinctively smack his son on the head, but seemed to remember something and lowered it. His huge, bull-like eyes glared at his son, who flinched and ducked his head.

"If it weren’t for the test today, I’d give you a good thrashing. You just listen to what I’m telling you. Knew him? Of course I knew him! He used to come to my stall all the time to sell meat. I knew him well. Even back then, I could tell he wasn’t an ordinary man. He brought in fresh game to sell every single day.

And another thing! Fifteen taels of silver! That’s our entire family’s savings! If you don’t have a Spirit Root, you can just resign yourself to becoming a butcher!"

Zhang Qijing muttered, "If I can’t achieve Cultivation Immortality, I can still be a Martial Artist."

Butcher Zhang glared at him again. "A Martial Artist? How can they compare to an Immortal? Even the storyteller said that Immortals can summon the wind and rain, fly through the heavens, and traverse the earth. Can a Martial Artist do that? You’ve seen the City Lord flying in the sky with your own two eyes. Can’t you have a little more ambition?!"

Zhang Qijing mumbled, wanting to retort. ’You used to always want me to become a Martial Artist, and now you’re looking down on them?’ But for the sake of his own skin, he quickly squashed the thought.

Although the crowd was huge, the line moved quickly. As they shuffled forward with the throng, it was their turn in about an hour.

When they reached the qualification testing counter, Butcher Zhang respectfully handed over his and his son’s Identity Tokens. He smiled at the staff member and said, "This is my son. He’s here for the Spirit Root Testing. Here are the fifteen taels, please have a look."

As he spoke, he handed over a well-worn Purse and poured out a small pile of scattered broken silver.

The staff member didn’t mind that it was broken silver; as long as the amount was correct, it was fine. Another person to the side counted it, then entered their names into a register.

"Go over there for the test," the staff member said, pointing to another area.

Butcher Zhang looked in the direction the staff member pointed and saw another large group of people split into six separate lines.

He quickly nodded in thanks, then pulled his son over to get in one of the lines.

As they hurried over, he glanced back and saw that the person who had been behind them was paying for two different services: not just a Spirit Bone test, but a Spirit Root test as well.

He then saw a staff member hand that person a blank, black, Talisman-like object. The person pricked their finger with a small knife, let a drop of blood fall onto it, and was then told to go join the line for the Spirit Root test.

Butcher Zhang now understood how the Spirit Bone Testing process worked.

He recalled the storyteller mentioning something about a "Spirit Testing Paper"—how you just had to drip blood on it and wait for a result. He had also heard that different colors indicated different outcomes.

Since there were many Spirit Testing Stones, the line moved very quickly. In just a quarter of an hour, it was their turn.

"Come on up. Just place your hand on the Spirit Testing Stone here," the staff member said, motioning for Zhang Qijing to approach the stone, which was embedded in the top of a metal pillar.

"Quickly, now," Butcher Zhang urged.

Zhang Qijing immediately walked over. A bit nervously, he reached up and placed his hand on the Spirit Testing Stone, which was positioned about two heads’ height above him.

As his hand rested on the Spirit Testing Stone, it began to glow with an earthy-yellow light. The glow lasted for about three breaths before fading away.

"Single Earth Spirit Root. Next," the staff member announced, completely unfazed by the result.

Butcher Zhang, however, was ecstatic. He scooped his son up into his arms, thanked the staff member profusely, and then rushed out of the Commerce Association.